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Absolutely end the drug war. It has resulted in countless violations of peoples rights, a militarization of police departments that randomly seize private property from citizens and keep it for their own departments, not to mention the numerous unconstitutional laws regarding "drugs".
The "war on drugs" has been one of the biggest public policy failures in history.
It's not that often that Mashed Potatoes and I agree ~ but on this, we absolutely do.
The drug war has been a joke --- there really is no drug war. The Mexican cartels were given control over the southern border, they were allowed to bring any kind of drugs over every day and they bring in tons of them that they quickly and easily distribute to ever city and town in the USA.
What drug war when drug shipments coming in from Juarez show up in virtually ever city and town and rural place throughout the whole USA in just a matter of hours? Our government knows full well how tons of drugs are coming in, nothing is being done to take control over that border back from the criminals that run it.
End all government handouts, all food stamps, all free hospital and medical care to those using drugs. Maybe it's time they start making the decision to load themselves up with drugs or feed their own kids. Why should losers be so heavily rewarded.
You wouldn't even have to legalize drugs. Just stop enforcing current law and prices will drop dramatically. After prices drop the violence will end.
If somone committs a crime while on drugs they should be arrested, but for having/selling the drugs themselves.
If it were legal drug companies could ration it also. Sort of like you get more alcohol content with different drinks. This would certainly make it safer for people.
In times past I would have unequivocally supported legalization of everything from mj to heroin. It's not the business of any nannyist do-gooder in DC what I choose to put in my body. Per John Locke's quote "Every man has a property in his own person" drug prohibition is fundamentally a violation of property rights, a theft.
Now as we move further down the road to socialized health care, I have rethought things. Now the taxpayer is increasingly on the hook for the health consequences of drug use. The whole drug rehab industry seems to be problematic to begin with. If we legalize, use will tend to increase. Now we'll have hordes of rent seekers coming into the picture to work the system as rehab/treatment providers. Medicare fraud has been estimated as high as 20% of outlays. It will be a mess. We'd be trading one mess for another.
I wouldn't support any legalization at this time. If you have a welfare state, you must have a nanny state to go with it.
In times past I would have unequivocally supported legalization of everything from mj to heroin. It's not the business of any nannyist do-gooder in DC what I choose to put in my body. Per John Locke's quote "Every man has a property in his own person" drug prohibition is fundamentally a violation of property rights, a theft.
Now as we move further down the road to socialized health care, I have rethought things. Now the taxpayer is increasingly on the hook for the health consequences of drug use. The whole drug rehab industry seems to be problematic to begin with. If we legalize, use will tend to increase. Now we'll have hordes of rent seekers coming into the picture to work the system as rehab/treatment providers. Medicare fraud has been estimated as high as 20% of outlays. It will be a mess. We'd be trading one mess for another.
I wouldn't support any legalization at this time. If you have a welfare state, you must have a nanny state to go with it.
Very well said. If we went the route like you suggested of not legalizing it, but simply stopped enforcing the drug laws, I would fully support some tough love measures, such as withholding publicly funded medical care from crackheads. If people know they will not recieve care at the expense of the taxpayer, they would either learn some responsibility or they would die. Either way, we the taxpayer would be better off.
Would I be in favor of legalizing drugs like crack or meth. Absolutely not.
Like it or not the "War on Drugs" is lost. People are going to use those drugs legal or not. The OP makes some good points but the most important one is reducing crime associated with them which revolves atounf the harder drugs like heroin and cocaine.
Legalize crack,meth and heroin....what could possibly go wrong?
What would get worse? Specifically.
This a serious question.
Seriously, millions of people do crack, meth and heroin every day. Laws aren't stopping them, and won't.
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